The Right Honourable is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom,the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is predominantly used today as a style associated with the holding of certain senior public offices in the United Kingdom,Canada,New Zealand,and,to a lesser extent,Australia.
A. Anne McLellan is a Canadian politician and academic who served as the ninth deputy prime minister of Canada from 2003 to 2006. She was a cabinet minister in the Liberal governments of Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin,and represented Edmonton in the House of Commons of Canada. She also held the positions of solicitor general,minister of health,and minister of justice of Canada.
Ralph Edward Goodale is a Canadian diplomat and retired politician who has served as the Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom since April 19,2021.
The King's Privy Council for Canada,sometimes called His Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council (PC),is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs. Practically,the tenets of responsible government require the sovereign or his viceroy,the governor general of Canada,to almost always follow only that advice tendered by the Cabinet:a committee within the Privy Council composed usually of elected members of Parliament. Those summoned to the KPC are appointed for life by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister of Canada,meaning that the group is composed predominantly of former Cabinet ministers,with some others having been inducted as an honorary gesture. Those in the council are accorded the use of an honorific style and post-nominal letters,as well as various signifiers of precedence.
The Privy Council Office is the central agency of the Government of Canada which acts as the secretariat to the Cabinet of Canada –a committee of the King's Privy Council for Canada –and provides non-partisan advice and support to the Canadian ministry,as well as leadership,coordination,and support to the departments and agencies of government.
The following list outlines the structure of the federal government of Canada,the collective set of federal institutions which can be grouped into the legislative,executive,and judicial branches. In turn,these are further divided into departments,agencies,and other organizations which support the day-to-day function of the Canadian state.
The clerk of the Privy Council is the professional head of the Public Service of Canada. As the deputy minister for the Privy Council Office,the clerk is the senior civil servant in the Government of Canada and serves as the secretary to the Cabinet.
In Canada,a deputy minister is the senior civil servant in a government organization,who acts as deputy head. Deputy ministers take political direction from a minister of the Crown,who is typically an elected member of Parliament and responsible for the department.
(Robert) Gordon Robertson,was the commissioner of the Northwest Territories from November 15,1953 to July 12,1963 who,having been sworn in at the age of 36,remains the youngest person to ever hold the office. He went on to become Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet,the top position in the Canadian public service.
Robert Broughton Bryce,,was a Canadian civil servant.
Gordon Francis Joseph Osbaldeston was a Canadian civil servant.
Jocelyne Bourgon,is a former Canadian public servant. She was the first woman appointed as the Clerk of the Privy Council,serving from 1994 until 1999.
Huguette Labelle is a Canadian retired civil servant and former Chancellor of the University of Ottawa,serving from 1994 until 2012. She has been the chair of the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments since 2016.
Melvin Samuel Cappe,is a retired Canadian civil servant and diplomat. From 2006 to 2011 he was the President and CEO of the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP) in Montreal,Quebec. He was most recently Canada's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. He had served in Canada's government since 1975 as a deputy minister of Environment Canada,Human Resources Development and Labour,as well as Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Federal Cabinet.
Stefanie Beck is a Canadian public servant and diplomat. She has been serving as the Deputy Minister of National Defence (DND) since June 3,2024. She was previously Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC),Associate Deputy Minister of National Defence,and Deputy High Commissioner for Canada to the United Kingdom.
Janice Charette is a Canadian public servant and diplomat who served as clerk of the Privy Council and secretary to the Cabinet from 2014 to 2016 and again from 2021 to 2023. Charette was the Canadian high commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2016 to 2021.
Michael Wernick is a Canadian retired public servant who served as the 23rd clerk of the Privy Council for Canada from 2016 to 2019. Following his tenure as clerk,Wernick joined the University of Ottawa,where he was named Jarislowsky chair of public sector management.
Ian Douglas Shugart was a Canadian politician,professor,and public servant who served as a senator from Ontario from September 2022 until his death in October 2023. Prior to his appointment to the Senate,Shugart held a number of senior roles within the Public Service of Canada,including as the 24th clerk of the Privy Council and secretary to the Cabinet from 2019 to 2021.
John Hannaford is a Canadian civil servant and is currently serving as the 25th clerk of the Privy Council and secretary to the Cabinet since June 24,2023,the most senior civil servant in the Government of Canada.
